Week 1

I have so much to catch up on! This week has been a whirlwind.

Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital (SPPH) inpatient Building #1. I spend a lot of time on the 12th floor of this building.

Monday 4/13 was my first day in the clinics. I arrived at the hospital at about 8:10 a.m., in time for the morning report. I was then introduced to so many people! Honestly, it was completely overwhelming. Mandy (the Chief resident who speaks great English and has been very helpful) then asked a young female resident, whose "English name" is "Daisy", to show me around. Daisy was assigned to be in glaucoma surgery that morning, so I tagged along. I have found that most people here have an 'English name' that they use if they are speaking to English-speaking natives. This is very helpful, because I have difficulty pronouncing and remembering the Chinese names!

I watched two glaucoma surgeries and a pars plana vitrectomy for non-clearing vit heme. The operating room was shared by both retina and glaucoma at the same time. A big departure from the United States!

Retina surgery on the left side of the photo, glaucoma surgery on the right.

In the afternoon, I spent some time with Dr. Lisa (English name). Clinic, however, was super busy and the language barrier is so intense, that it was difficult for me to get involved. I think that the language issue will definitely be my biggest barrier here.

After work, Mandy and I walked to a hot pot restaurant, where we were met by Dr. Wu (the head of the ophtho department) and Dr. Susan. We had a nice time. I was amazed by some of the cuisine though. For the hot pot, we had intestine, large pieces of artery, some beef, Chinese yams, lotus root, and bamboo pieces. As I mentioned earlier, the Sichuan province is known for their spicy food, and it is delicious!

Sichuan Province is known for their spicy food and delicious hot pot! The intestines, which I was told "taste like noodles", are the light pink things in the upper left of the photo.

Tuesday morning, Dr. Wu formally introduced me at morning report. Luckily I wasn't expected to give a speech :) She introduced me as "Gao Lisha", which is my Chinese name. Dr. Wu, Dr. Susan, and Mandy came up with it at dinner the night before. "Gao" represents my family name (last name), and it means "tall".  "Lisha" is for "Liz". Apparently "Li" means beautiful. I learned to write it in Chinese, so I am good to go!

Morning report



"Gao Li-sha"

I spent in cataract surgery in the morning. Dr. Wu had 13 cases (phacoemulsification). She is a speedy surgeon, and technically very talented as well, so all went smoothly. There was no afternoon clinic, as she was catching a flight to Japan for a conference. Instead, one of the residents, Tom, invited me to go watch his rehearsal for an upcoming show that they will perform live for the president of the hospital. I couldn't understand much, but it was nice to be amongst others. When I arrived in the auditorium, Tom told them I would be watching. The head nurse asked that I sit in the FRONT row...they are always so kind to me and treating me like royalty.

Cataract surgery. Mandy is the person in the foreground.

One of the ophtho residents, "Tom", acting as the narrator.



There was dancing and singing.



The head nurse talks to the more junior nurses at rehearsal. Tom pointed out that the head nurse has two stripes on her hat, while the more junior nurses only have one stripe.


Wednesday morning was spent in clinic with Dr. Susan. It was insanely busy. She had 49 scheduled patients in the morning! Again, I think it is easier for them to see this large number of patients because not every patient gets dilated (in fact, many aren't) and the record keeping is not nearly as complicated as in the U.S. At any rate, what I found most interesting was the way in which the clinic was run.

People everywhere!

First off, about 5 patients at a time are called to wait in line in the exam room where the doctor sees patients. Everyone is talking. The patients all crowd around the doctors desk talking at her. People are budging in line without second thought, they are talking on their cell phones, and pushing others out of the way. All the while, the doctor stays calm and just does the best she can. I could not make sense of this! Every once in awhile, a lady ("Sharon")  would come in and talk to the patients sternly. I finally asked her what she was saying and she said she was telling them to wait their turn and not cut in line. She would point out their number to them on their slip of paper, reminding them that it was NOT their turn.

She went on to describe that this is common. There are so many patients and they do not want to wait, so mass chaos ensues. The doctor CANNOT raise his/her voice or reprimand the patients because the patients will complain to the administration, who will see to it that the doctor be chastised. This is why the "line policing" falls to people like Sharon. Patient violence against doctors is not uncommon in China.

Patients crowding around the doctor (can see the back of the white coat on the left). Notice there is no "line" (there is supposed to be), but everyone just pushes to the front.

Wednesday afternoon, I gave my first English/ophtho lesson. I chose to use the first lecture as an introduction. I told the residents about myself (with photos), and then asked them to tell me about themselves. Afterwards, I handed out gift bags that I had put together (Hershey's kisses, a pen from Iowa State, a Dean McGee lens cloth, and a top made by the Oklahoma wood carvers). They were overjoyed :)

I then took photos with my little Polaroid camera and had each student write their Chinese name as well as their English name. This will help me learn all of the faces/names! They LOVED the camera, and each wanted their own copy of the photo too. For those that didn't have English names, I gave them names :) Names given were: Hannah, Rosie, Mary, Katie, and Diana.

The residents (not all of them could make the lecture). I wanted just a photo of them, but they all insisted I be in the photo with them.

We had a lot of fun! I think the lecture was a hit, as immediately afterwards I was invited to Rosie's wedding on May 2 and homemade dinner at Cookie's house! They are so kind to me.

And one final story... Last night I stopped into a little bakery. I had been there once before, and there is a worker who likes to practice her English. She and I were chatting at the cash register, when someone walked in and cut in line in front of me! I was so taken aback. Afterwards, she and I started discussing differences between China and America. I mentioned that I noted that it was not uncommon for people to cut in line (in the elevator line, in line at the doctor's office, at fast food restaurants, in the post office, etc etc). She agreed. She then went on to say (in very choppy English), that she likes Americans, but she thinks they are all "fat and rich"! She really wasn't trying to be rude, that is just the perception she said that the Chinese have of Americans. I promptly felt guilty for buying a treat in the bakery :-/ Oh well. I guess we are all fat and happy in America. And stereotypes and broad generalizations about other cultures occur everywhere...